Sprint Nextel Corp said Tuesday that Palm's much anticipate Pre smartphone will launch on its 3G network Saturday June 6th for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The announcement comes amid increasing speculation from industry watchers who believe Apple, an established rival standing in Palm's path to regaining steep market share losses, may use its annual developers conference two days later to counter the PDA device maker's latest handset with its own line of updated iPhones.

Availability

Sprint says the Pre will be available nationwide in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com. The carrier also took a pot-shot at rival wireless providers by claiming that the device will come with its value-oriented Everything Data plans that "offer savings of up to $1,430 over two years versus comparable AT&T and Verizon plans for smartphones and PDAs."

Calling plans

Upon closer inspection, however, it appears that Sprint based those comparisons on the unlimited minute options for Verizon PDA/Smartphone Nationwide Email & Messaging with the VZ Navigator add-on and AT&T's Nation plan with the addition of a PDA Personal Bundle and AT&T Navigator.

Listed among the Pre's features is a 3.1-inch touchscreen supplemented by a physical slide-out keyboard, 8GB of internal storage, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, 3-megapixel camera, and a removable battery. It will run and mark the debut of Palm's new webOS platform based on standard open web technologies such as CSS, XHTML, and JavaScript.

Among the software's highlights is Palm Synergy, a key feature that brings together a user's personal and professional calendar, contacts and e-mail into one centralized view, making transitions between work and personal applications easier to manage.

Unlike the iPhone, Palm has said that the Pre will run multiple apps at the same time, each one "seamlessly connected to the web and always active."Â*Using the device's multi-touch-like screen surface, users will be able to instantly flip from one app to another as if they were sifting through a deck of playing cards on a table."

"You can move back and forth between text messaging and e-mail, or search the web while you listen to music," the company said. "You can rearrange items simply by dragging them, and when you are done with something, just throw it away by flicking it off the top of the screen.

Each Pre comes with a charger in the box, but Palm will also market a $49.99 Touchstone charging dock, which it claims is the first inductive charging solution for phones, available exclusively for Pre. When bundled with a Touchstone back cover for Pre, the dock will sell for $69.99.

I've been waiting for someone to point out a single killer feature on this phone for weeks now. Here we are, approaching launch, and I still haven't seen one. Let's see: it's fat and heavy, it's linked to Sprint who is widely derided as the worst US carrier, it has no apps (yet) and the company is short on cash.

Now we learn it doesn't even compete on price, until after a mail-in rebate? Mail in rebate? Are you joking?!

Dead.

Wait, here's something: "You can move back and forth between text messaging and e-mail, or search the web while you listen to music," the company said. "You can rearrange items simply by dragging them, and when you are done with something, just throw it away by flicking it off the top of the screen.

Wow! All the things I already do on my iPhone. No seriously, I can do every single one of those things right now. SMS comes up in a pop-up when you're in other apps, and the iPod plays under everything else.

Battery life is important too. I agree Sprint is pretty bad but still need to read reviews on it and its Sprint signal before passing judgements.

I had them for about 3 years and it wasn't anything special to say the least. I really haven't run into a cell phone provider that I thought was simply amazing nor have I really run into one that's God-Awful. I've had really good results w/ AT&T and they even have 3G now in my hometown of 5k (when I go to visit) so I guess that's about as good as I can ask for. I'd say they are obviously lacking in something because if you're offering plans $20 cheaper (check the unlimited MMS included) then you're trying to steal customers based on price and as we all know on this forum the way to make up for a substandard product is to make it cheaper than it's competitors...

That $100 mail-in-rebate is crap too...

You get a $200-$300 instant rebate when you buy an iPhone. You can either get a $199 iPhone w/ no mail in rebate or you can get a $299 Pre and wait for the extra $100 to come back to you. Sounds like a no-brainer... Also, you're going to pay tax on that extra $100 and you certainly aren't going to get that back.

I suspect that Pre will be an interesting phone but solidly in the tradition that iPhone invented. Hard to know on a practical level how it will function until there's hands' on experience. It may make a small dent in prospective iPhone buyers but more likely it will only help grow the smart phone market and the big 3 in this space all gain (RIMM, Apple, Android). iPhone sales certainly won't be going down anytime soon. Competition is good for Apple though unlike other companies it doesn't rest on its laurals. Palm is in trouble however on their financials. I read an analysis that said Palm would need to sell 8 million Pre in year 1 just to stay in business. Would Msoft be interested in buying this company? Gruber thinks their getting ready to buy RIM but I think palm. Msoft have nothing to compete with in this space and seemingly incapable of engineering one.

So where are the "2-year contract" complainers? Wow, and it includes a keyboard for midgets, and the slide out keyboard is not even in landscape mode.

Replaceable battery, give me a break. No one stocks up on cell phone batteries, and most of you dump the phone after a year when something better comes out anyway. My Razr worked great, and I never had to replace the battery, and I had the phone for 2 years before I got the iPhone. The only problem: the battery cover would never sit right on the back of the phone. The iPhone battery lasts longer than the Razr battery. I had an old Nokia phone that had a slide-on clip battery that had enough play in it that it would disconnect power whenever it moved. The only solution was taping it to the phone. Replacement batteries had the same problem. So in my opinion, removable batteries suck.

The "Pre" is V-A-P-O-R-W-A-R-E! It's still a promise, a dream, a phantom, a wisp. Nothing more.

So it "looks good"? Big f-ing deal! Has anyone actually touched or used this thing for longer than 10 seconds? It's a Potemkin Village, folks! It's all facade, smoke, and mirrors!

Tell me: How well does that touch screen actually work? How rugged is it? Battery life good with all those background tasks running all the time? Will you need a bandolero of them for a day's calling and "computing"? How's the reception on the Sprint network? Moreover, how's the Sprint network itself? Hate AT&T and Verizon's coverage? Then you're absolutely going to convulse over Sprint's!

Gonna save some money with this device? Yeah? Not if there aren't any useful, rock-solid applications for it. Not if the service and support after the sale aren't there. Palm is on its way DOWN, ladies and gentlement. The slightest misstep with this phone, and it's GONE.

A TRUISM OF THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY: Never, never, never buy anything with a zero on the end of its version number. Now, let's see. The "Pre" is coming out with NO real-world testing by anyone and usage information from no one--and it's in Version 1.0. GOOD LUCK, people. Believe the dream. Maybe this beleaguered company can pull the first miracle in history and release a perfect device the first time.

The grass is always greener on the other side. Always. Until you get there and taste it. (Here's to the BlackBerry Storm, Vista, Windows 7, cars that run on water, the free lunch, and "the check's in the mail.")

I'd rather take any stupid rebate from these companies than no rebate from Apple.
I hate rebates too but still prefer it to nothing or $100 off the company's products.

so for an 8gb iPhone, you'd rather shell out $300 up front, then wait for your 100 bucks to come back in the mail....rather than just pay $200 and be done? Makes sense.....

Didn't the Pre CEO (or sprint CEO, i forget) make some snively comment such as, "why would we price it the same as an iPhone when we have the better product"? HA what a shithead. Is a mail-in rebate his idea of pricing the Pre higher? Gimmie a break.

8GB seems too little. If rumors are true, then the new iphone will have 16GB memory, wireless-n and much more for $199.
the one thing iphone lacks is being able to run 1 background app like music streaming, but i hear that if you jailbreak it then you can do that too!

You get a $200-$300 instant rebate when you buy an iPhone. You can either get a $199 iPhone w/ no mail in rebate or you can get a $299 Pre and wait for the extra $100 to come back to you. Sounds like a no-brainer... Also, you're going to pay tax on that extra $100 and you certainly aren't going to get that back.

Good try but that statement is absolutely FALSE.
I know you didn't invent this falacy but perhaps your drink is extra spiked this morning?

Couldn't agree more. Apple takes crap from everyone regarding their built-in batteries in their products, yet we see every other company follow suit. Apple, once again, thinking different and innnovating in the marketplace while everyone else sits on the sidelines.

The rebate from sprint takes about a month. I've done it twice. So long as you mail it in (I'm sure we all remember how to use snail mail right? ) they process it pretty quickly.

The only info you send in is a COPY (not the actual) of the reciept, along with some form u fill out. It's not like rebates I find on newegg where I have to cut out my upc from the box.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maury Markowitz

I've been waiting for someone to point out a single killer feature on this phone for weeks now. Here we are, approaching launch, and I still haven't seen one. Let's see: it's fat and heavy, it's linked to Sprint who is widely derided as the worst US carrier, it has no apps (yet) and the company is short on cash.

Now we learn it doesn't even compete on price, until after a mail-in rebate? Mail in rebate? Are you joking?!

Dead.

Wait, here's something: "You can move back and forth between text messaging and e-mail, or search the web while you listen to music," the company said. "You can rearrange items simply by dragging them, and when you are done with something, just throw it away by flicking it off the top of the screen.

Wow! All the things I already do on my iPhone. No seriously, I can do every single one of those things right now. SMS comes up in a pop-up when you're in other apps, and the iPod plays under everything else.

Dead.

Maury

omg dude. Seriously? Could you rage any harder? Your fanboy grease is seeping through your pores. Apples are just pooring out of your *** aren't they?

Calm the **** down. I don't understand why anyone with an iphone is getting SO worked up over the pre. Do you like your phone? Yes? Then why the **** do you care what another phone offers? Did it ever occur to you that the iphone would heavily influence it's surrounding market, and phones like this were inevitable?

Can we not turn this thread into an iphone vs pre discussion, yet again. It's repetitive, it gets nowhere (since nobody actually owns a pre yet) and it's down right silly. The Pre is just one of many cool phones coming out this year.

The Pre is hideous looking. Sorry, 2 years on an iPhone and I can't even entertain the idea of such a half-assed "competitor".

June 6th release? Ha are you kidding me? This is called, "Whatever we do, it has to be on sale before WWDC, or we won't sell ANY of them."

At least they'll get a few Pandora suckers to drop $300 + 2 year Sprint contract on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iStink

The rebate from sprint takes about a month. I've done it twice. So long as you mail it in (I'm sure we all remember how to use snail mail right? ) they process it pretty quickly.

The only info you send in is a COPY (not the actual) of the reciept, along with some form u fill out. It's not like rebates I find on newegg where I have to cut out my upc from the box.

omg dude. Seriously? Could you rage any harder? Your fanboy grease is seeping through your pores. Apples are just pooring out of your *** aren't they?

Calm the **** down. I don't understand why anyone with an iphone is getting SO worked up over the pre. Do you like your phone? Yes? Then why the **** do you care what another phone offers? Did it ever occur to you that the iphone would heavily influence it's surrounding market, and phones like this were inevitable?

Can we not turn this thread into an iphone vs pre discussion, yet again. It's repetitive, it gets nowhere (since nobody actually owns a pre yet) and it's down right silly. The Pre is just one of many cool phones coming out this year.

When tegra is announced, will everyone **** their pants then too?

Relax. Its hilarious to some people to see people clamoring for "more", and thinking the Palm Pre is it. Its hilarious because it couldn't be more wrong. Everyone knows it, except the people that are constant victims of advertising. And the release date? I'm telling you right now, it was CRITICAL that they launch this product before the announcement of the new iPhone. This was the best they do, logistically. 2 days.

This product will sell about 100,000 units, over 2 days, then yes its DEAD, thanks to iPhone 3.

Couldn't agree more. Apple takes crap from everyone regarding their built-in batteries in their products, yet we see every other company follow suit. Apple, once again, thinking different and innnovating in the marketplace while everyone else sits on the sidelines.

Being able to replace the battery is an attractive feature. For example, if you're traveling for an extended period of time, and you've got a fully charged spare battery, it's nice to just pop it in and go after the first battery is drained.

I suspect that Pre will be an interesting phone but solidly in the tradition that iPhone invented. Hard to know on a practical level how it will function until there's hands' on experience. It may make a small dent in prospective iPhone buyers but more likely it will only help grow the smart phone market and the big 3 in this space all gain (RIMM, Apple, Android). iPhone sales certainly won't be going down anytime soon. Competition is good for Apple though unlike other companies it doesn't rest on its laurals. Palm is in trouble however on their financials. I read an analysis that said Palm would need to sell 8 million Pre in year 1 just to stay in business. Would Msoft be interested in buying this company? Gruber thinks their getting ready to buy RIM but I think palm. Msoft have nothing to compete with in this space and seemingly incapable of engineering one.

First it has to be released, and Palm needs to be able to manage it. Then it has to actually sell enough to keep Palm afloat. The it has to actually work as it should, unlike the hyped-to-hell Storm that turnd out to be a dud.

It won't really matter anyway. The whole game is being changed again in June with the next iPhone. And then everyone else can go back to the drawing-board again.

Couldn't agree more. Apple takes crap from everyone regarding their built-in batteries in their products, yet we see every other company follow suit. Apple, once again, thinking different and innnovating in the marketplace while everyone else sits on the sidelines.

Pre is following Apple with a replaceable battery?
If anything, Palm is responding to the public/corporate outcry for one.

Being able to replace the battery is an attractive feature. For example, if you're traveling for an extended period of time, and you've got a fully charged spare battery, it's nice to just pop it in and go after the first battery is drained.

Not a key feature everyone looks for, but not a bad one either.

Apple says you don't need it and it's not necessary- stop complaining and defending it!
(I thought I would pre-empt solipism on this one)